Palm Beach County school libraries increasingly closed; search your school

School libraries are increasingly shutting their doors and turning into testing hubs while their books sit idle on the shelves. Of the public school media centers that reported their closures in Palm Beach County, 39 were shuttered for 40 days or more, records show. One school library was closed for 125 of the 180 days of the year.

School officials attribute most of the closures to state and district testing, though some libraries also close for faculty meetings, special events or voting. Most schools have no space to test large groups of kids and are forced to use the media center.